FLAT out loud: Flat Design versus Skeumorphism?

Terms You Need to Know:

Flat design- simple shapes, colors, and typography to emphasize clarity and usability.

Skeumorphism- visual trickery, or the use of details and ornamentation to make one thing look like another.  Skeuomorphism in UI design usually refers to a digital element designed to look like something from the physical world. 

Consider:

Rumored for September 10, 2013,  Apple will release iOS 7 to the public.  As a result, there is an increasing discussion on flat design versus skeumorphism. Flat designs are more noticeably used in user interface (UI) designs.  I noticed the trend in print advertisements. Flat design is seen in an advertisement for Sephora's Living Proof hair serum (Glamour, September 2013).  Also, I saw the use of flat design in the print advertisement for the Thought Leaders panel discussion (Entrepreneur, September 2013).

Sephora advertisement

Thought Leaders advertisement

Flat design offers crisp and clean design. Nevertheless, it may not always produce the maximum effect intended for the targeted audiences.  I feel that the use of visual trickery, or the use of details and ornamentation to make one thing look like another (skeumorphism) not only helps to present details and beautify the craft but it offers designers the ability to bring new concepts into reality. Mazda uses this method for a print advertisement (Entrepreneur, September 2013). What do you think about flat design versus skeumorphism?

Mazda advertisement

References:

Campbell-Dollaghan, Kelsey. What is Flat Design? http://gizmodo.com/what-is-flat-design-508963228 May 24, 2013.

Smith, Grace. 36 High-Quality Flat Design Resources http://mashable.com/2013/07/29/flat-design-ui-kits/  July 29, 2013